The Cook Islands Under 20 rugby union team's experience at last year's world cup in Ireland will go some way towards their qualifying preparation.
The team is currently in New Zealand preparing for a qualifying match against Papua New Guinea and a spot in the Under 20 tournament to be held in Chile in April.
Assistant team manager Massey Mateariki says they've retained some of the players that went to Ireland and is making a huge difference
"The guys that went to Ireland last year they're basically lifting the spirits of the boys and keeping them in line basically and that helped with their development really in making sure they make the team better this year."
Massey Mateariki says the team have a couple of warm up matches before they meet PNG on the 26th of January.
